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Thursday, November 29, 2012

So here's me playing around with jellies again! This time we have a "real" jelly sandwich.

I started out with Paloma, just trying to make it as even as possible as base color, then added Super Funk and finished off with one more coat of Paloma. I can't really tell you how many coats I used apart from the last one since it really depends on how intense you want the base color to be and how much glitter you want on your nails. It took some time to get enough on for my liking since the glitter in Super Funk is dispersed kind of sparsely. Anyway, I think the look of the glitter trapped between the jelly is so cool!

What do you think of this combo? Too much? What would you pair Paloma with?

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Today I have two pinks for you! It's funny how I developed a deep love for pink polish so quickly, haha! About a year ago, wearing pink polish seemed almost unthinkable to me and now... Well, here we go!

Holi Hai
Two coats with top coat, except for my pointer finger, those are three coats. It just didn't go on as even there so it might look a bit darker than on the other nails. This is the lighter one of the two.

Revel the Red
I forgot to note the number of coats... Damn. I believe it was two, though. As for top coat I really don't remember - sorry! Anyway, this is a bit darker but also seems more neon.

The other polishes in this Limited Edition are a peach with shimmer, a dark plum color and a "gold leaf top coat". The top coat looks a lot like a repromote of the Million Dollar Baby top coat from the Million Stylez LE, but I didn't buy it to compare.

Sunday, November 25, 2012

So this is the Clash of the Polishes I recently promised. Let's get right into it, shall we?

White Polka Dot
Swatched on black for comparison purposes. I can't really tell you the number of coats because you have to fish around for the bigger glitter pieces a bit and keep dabbing around here and there to rearrange them. I'd say you have to go over the nail about two to three times to approximately get the amount of glitter you see in the photo. The glitter in this is a silvery white for the big hexagonal pieces while the smaller pieces are blue, that same silvery white, and gold.

Pirouette My Whistle
Also swatched on black. This is exactly one coat. The big glitter here is also silvery white, but the small glitter is just silver, no other colors involved.

My final verdict: These two are not dupes.
White Polka Dot looks pretty with the small glitter being multi-colored, however, that is not visible as much during normal wear as when you look at it up close. It takes some effort to get enough big glitter pieces on the nail.
Pirouette My Whistle is only one color, but is perfect in one coat and looks very pretty as well.

Friday, November 23, 2012

P2's latest Limited Edition "fly me to the moon" just came out and seems to be really popular. I went to the drugstore last Friday and the display was already pretty empty. Only two polish colors were left, so I grabbed what I naturally gravitate towards - blue! I'm really sad that the turquoise one was already gone...

Two coats with top coat. The top coat really brings the shimmer to life. I think this is gorgeous. I didn't feel that it was special at first but as I applied it, it became obvious that this one looks a lot more interesting and pretty on the nail than in the bottle; it reveals slight purple tones and the wonderful shimmer!

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Remember my layering of essie's Mint Candy Apple with Nubar's White Polka Dot on top? Well, I received my order of two polishes from the Zoya Gloss Collection a few days back and couldn't wait to try them, so I decided to layer Frida over the previous combination... Not perfect, but not too bad either - see for yourself.

It was a bit difficult to get Frida on evenly.I don't have a lot of experience with jelly polishes yet, so I guess some training will fix the problems.

Here's a shot of Frida (I keep typing "Friday"...) and Paloma - my two picks from the Gloss collection.

Did you get any of the Zoya Gloss polishes? How do you work with jellies?

Monday, November 19, 2012

This is the combo I wore last Friday evening and Saturday morning. I really liked it; White Polka Dot reminds me of falling snow.

Two coats of Mint Candy Apple, two coats of White Polka Dot, with top coat. You have to fish around a bit in the bottle to get enough big glitter on the nail. I wish there were more big glitter pieces in White Polka Dot. It's a bit of a hassle to get enough of them on the nail (for my liking).

When I looked at White Polka Dot on the nail I was reminded of another polish that looks almost exactly the same as far as the glitter size and form is concerned. Can you guess which one? In any case, you can expect the two in an upcoming Clash of the Polishes!

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Catrice just came out with their second Big City Life Limited Edition. They already had an LE with that name around the same time last year, so I'm calling this year's "Big City Life Reloaded". That's not the official name though! I just find it confusing to have two LEs with the same name. But Catrice is an expert in giving two completely different things the same name... *cough*Sold Out Forever*cough* ANYWAY! Let's get into this collection!

Paris
Four coats, no top coat. This is quite sheer. You don't really need four coats, but I wanted to test this color out a bit. I have to admit to you guys... I don't really like this one. I liked it in the bottle, but applied it looks so brown somehow... A real pity is that the shimmer is barely, if at all, visible. It looks like a plain creme. Too bad, because the fuchsia shimmer would look really awesome if only it were prominent. Or should I say discernible?

San Francisco
Two coats, no top coat. If you apply this in a thick coat, I think one would suffice. In the bottle it looks like a plain creme at first, but it has gorgeous shimmer. Easily my favorite in this LE.

Shanghai
Two coats, no top coat. Again, a second coat is hardly needed. I'm really sighing right now, guys. Another gold. I'm so bored with that. All people seem to think about color-wise when it comes to China is gold and red. Not that those colors aren't meaningful and much used in Chinese history and all, but COME ON. Do something different for once. I only bought this for two reasons: 1. I wanted to review it, 2. I love Asia and am so obsessive that I'll even buy a nail polish in a color I would never wear just because it's called "Shanghai". Yep, that's me!

Overall, I have to say I'm disappointed with this LE. The only positive points for me are that San Francisco is a seriously pretty polish and that the bottle design is absolutely awesome (though I'm not sure if there really is a traditional-style Chinese tower in Shanghai, but there just might be, I don't know).

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Sorry for my absence. Here is a combo I wore last Friday for a dinner with my colleagues. They organize this every year and it's not formal at all, not like a "real" company dinner. It's basically for all of us to connect and interact on a more personal level. Lots of ex-employees come to these dinners as well. It's nice. Since it wasn't a formal event I decided to be a bit more daring (although it turned out to not look very daring at all) with my nail polish, plus I'd been wanting to try this particular combo for a while. So here it finally is!

Two coats of essence - black is back and one coat of NYX - Dorothy, plus top coat. I had to do two coats of top coat - not because the glitter really needs it, but because the first one I'd put on dried agonizingly slowly and I was in a bit of a rush. I really like the look of this but I wish the glitter would pop more. I had thought it would stand out more but I suppose the background is too dark.

Saturday, November 3, 2012

This current limited edition has a total of four polishes, but only two of them appealed to me at all. So let's see what they look like, shall we?

eternal rose
Two coats, no top coat. It's not quite as brown as it appears here, but it is definitely a muted rose. I personally wouldn't even call this color "rose"; I don't really know how to describe it. I wouldn't really wear this, I feel it's not flattering on me.

magic purple
Two coats, no top coat. It wasn't quite opaque in some places on the first coat, so I had to add a second one. If you pay attention on the first coat, it will be a one-coater. Again, not the most flattering color for me. Sort of a prune color, at least that's what it reminds me of. The first picture is definitely more color-accurate.

So overall, this collection isn't for me. I really like the packaging though. P2 isn't necessarily known for their witty packaging choices... ahem. But this time they did a great job. The other items in this LE are quite nicely packaged as well.

Friday, November 2, 2012

Quite some time no see, huh? Here's a minty combo with subtle shimmer that I've been wearing today. Depending on the weather, I will still be wearing it tomorrow; if the sun is coming out again I might take it off and swatch some stuff :)

Two coats of Re-Fresh Mint plus one coat of mint pleasure, then top coat. I'm a bit sad that the shimmer isn't really visible; you will need the light to shine on it to be able to discern it. It mostly looks like a plain creme. Oh well.
The funny thing about this combo is that it literally came to me in a dream. Maybe two nights ago I was thinking in my sleep "I should try China Glaze Re-Fresh Mint with that green, shimmery, super sheer P2 polish". And so today I did. Is that weird?
Anyway, I also added an essence nail sticker on each of my ring finger nails later. I picked white because I thought it would look better with the light green, but it kind of disappears against the background. So yeah, all ideas for this mani kind of failed, but I still like it ^_^